4 Philadelphia Eagles not named Jalen Hurts who deserve starting roles

Josh Sweat has become a reliable Philadelphia Eagles pass rusher.

The Eagles drafted Florida State pass rusher Josh Sweat with their fourth-round pick in 2018’s draft. It was seen as a low-risk, high-reward selection. Sweat had a ton of talent, but he was also known for his injury history. The Eagles took a flier on him, hoping he’d help retool their deep, but aging, pass rush.

Fast forward to 2020, and Sweat has done just that. In the NFL, you can never have too many pass rushers. The Eagles proved that during their Super Bowl run in 2017-2018. Sweat has become a player that the Eagles can rely on to provide quality snaps as a rotational piece, as a pass rusher, and as a game wrecker that can cause havoc. He needs more playing time, and depending on how that goes, he could drift into a starting role.

In Sweat’s second season, he got to the quarterback four times. In 2020, he got to the quarterback six times, largely in a rotational role (which is very impressive). It’s also worth noting that he has forced three fumbles on the year, including what might be the biggest play of his career to this point, a strip-sack of Taysom Hill that helped shift the momentum back in the Eagles favor. Josh Sweat has shown improvement, and if Eagles fans are lucky, he’ll continue to get better each year.

Where the Philadelphia Eagles go from here is up in the air. The same can be said about the future, but Eagles fans can find solace in knowing they have some building blocks thanks in part to these four players, a few other young guys, and, of course, with Jalen Hurts.